St Mary's 4 - Larne Youth 0
The Saints maintained their 100% winning start to the new season with a comprehensive 4-0 victory against league new boys Larne Youth on a fine Saturday in Mallusk.
The squad was bolstered by the return of defender Aidan Begley who was out with concussion after a biking accident.
The first ten minutes of the game were cagey with both sides trying to gain control in midfield, with no real scoring opportunities for either side. After ten minutes, Bannon created St Mary's first opening with a good run resulting in Park having his shot charged down. From the rebound, Ross killed a few low flying seagulls with a wild effort that went soaring over the bar. Minutes later they took the lead when McGarrity shot and the keeper couldn't hold, and O’Reilly nudged the ball home for the lead.
The next attack should have seen St Mary's double their lead after great work from Donaghey and Bannon down the right flank, but O'Reilly was caught offside. Minutes later it was 2-0 when O'Reilly picked up the ball on the left and charged down the flank and into the box before firing the ball high into the net, giving the Larne keeper no chance.
Straight from the kick-off at the start of the second half, Ross was put through and his lob cleared the crossbar by inches. In practically the next attack, he made it 3-0 to St Mary's with one of his trademark 20 yard specials from just outside the box. St Mary's had an effort disallowed before McNaughton made it 4-0 when he poked the ball home in a goalmouth scramble.
The management team were delighted with another fine all round team effort from St Mary's and are disappointed that there are no fixtures next weekend, due to the parade in Belfast. Star man in a team full of great performances was Conor Bannon just pipping Jack Parke for the Man of the Match champagne.
